Art & Inspiration to rare to cut up

Where would you draw the line? I'm sure you thought of it before, dropping a big V-8 in a Cord, or chopping a Duesenberg, but if you had the opportunity would you? Has anyone hot rodded or customized a super rare car?

 

Actually two lines, about four inches apart on a deuce coupe.

 

I passed on a '29 Tudor the other day because it was way to nice to rod. Ended up going to a guy looking for his first Model A.

 

actually a CORD. In the Cumberland county region of south jersey has a ls1 , auto tranny and corvette rear ! ....not H.A.M.B. Friendly, not my cup of tea but DAMN NICE JOB!

 

a Tucker

 

aren't they all in museums any way

 

I will cut everything, in every manor possible, every day.

 

I start with junk, so it does not matter. I have 55 Studebaker, mother in law says "those were so nice, you have to put it back original". I told her No, it's too far gone for that, but it will make a sweet gasser! Oh well, she's the mom in law, we don't see eye to eye on much.

 

{ No their not.}I passed a Tucker with two guys driving it on Hershey Drive Pa. It had # 44 on it's tag. You never know what you'll see there. I'm a Hot Rodder, so I'd Rod anything, that I'm going to keep it for myself. My good friend Moose and I chopped my 34 Dodge sedan Delivery. so yes we would.

 

the nicer the car to start with the easier to finish. I don't understand the mentality of too nice too cut up

 

Stutz Bearcat and '33 Bugatti Roadster. I might cut the Stutz. LOL

 

I would have to draw the line at chopping a Tucker. My father worked for Tucker. In fact, he owned one of them. Here is a photo of it in the driveway when we lived in East Texas.

 

Aluminum bodied Lincoln
Yes its a real Lincoln manufacture.

 

Not my style but rarity didn't stop Joe Ida from hot rodding a tucker,fugly wheels but IMHO Tuckers are not pretty cars. HRP

 

haha ! my buddy had a Cord 810 Beverly Sedan.. He cut it up( body was professional altered to look like the real deal and it's amazing !) , now it's a 812 two door Phaeton .. boxed the frame.. tri-powered nasty small block.. 4 speed Muncie and 9" Ford out back...

 

While you're at it, Beaner...Cut that VW floorpan outa that Fat Bugatti!!! Give it a decent diet.

 

Well the guy who cut up a Deusenberg would probably be the collector taking a rather mundane sedan and having a correct roadster or convert body built for it. Still there may be that Deusenberg chassis and less than popular body that some collector used as a parts car for his "special" car's restoration that someone could pick up and make a rod out of.
That said there are some more and maybe not more common cars that I wouldn't modify. The mid 50's Chrysler 300, 300B and 300C are in that category. They are so special in their own right an have a hot rod history of their own that they should be kept original or restored back to original. I doubt anyone would give you a ration of crap if you showed up at Roundup with a perfectly restored 300B with all the proper bells and whistles. On the other hand a Custom Windsor hardtop from the same years would rock a few worlds too and those aren't all that rare nor are they special editions.
As I get older I have a harder time with taking a perfect or near perfect all original car and making a hot rod out of it. Even though quite often they aren't that expensive to buy I can't see the wisdom in taking a nice fully restored Model A that is capable of entering any Model A meet in the country and cutting it up. There are still plenty of Model As floating around that are great hotrod material if one looks a bit.

 

Ted thats cool that your dad worked for tucker! I changed my mind. We will get an old Studebaker and chop it, and then make it look like a Tucker. Lol Ron...

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When a guy has cubic yards of cash he can built his and our wildest dreams,as far as I'm concerned there are no sacred cows! HRP

 

Ida's Tucker is a fiberglass car, not a real Tucker. He was also selling additional fiberglass copies. If my memory is right he used GM fwd drivetrain.

Back to OP's question, I think it comes down to what cutting up will do to the value of the car. Some will be worth more modified, some will be worth more original. Rarity does not always equate to value.

 

Is there an "unlike" button yet?

 

A guy in the uk just built a cord streetrod from a very rotten original

 

It's their car and they can do whatever they want with it...........
"no scared cows!" LOL
....unless you pulled the dual cowl from the SS Andrea Doria.....

 

I've never seen a car that was too nice to cut up ,or too nice to drive,

 

37-39 Zephyr coupes , I know how great they look with a haircut but with limited production runs the original's are becoming far and few between.

 

You mean a fake Bugatti?

 

Ok how about a '34 Packerd convert with a Hemi in it?

 

Your Bugatti seems to have a VW front end. Has it already been rodded? (Likely a kit car. )

 

I'd cut this up without a forethought, but fiberglass makes ya kinda itchy, this is a kit car, VW front suspension